Nameberry Picks: 12 neglected girls’ classics

In the search for appealing vintage girls’ names, parents have dusted off a number of charming old-fashioned treasures that have found their way to the top of the list—from Ava to Sophia to Olivia to Isabella. But there’s an ample supply of other, less obvious examples up for reevaluation, and here are twelve of the best.

Virginia

Yes, Virginia, it is time for you to emerge from the shadows and rejoin the other, more enduring, classics like Elizabeth and Katherine. Virginia’s geographic reference (the state was named for “Virgin Queen” Elizabeth) gives it an appealing Southern sweetness and its history includes being the appellation of the first child born to English parents in the New World, Virginia Dare.
(ill: VirginiaWoolf)